NOW that Mo Farah has revealed the Commonwealth Games is not on his list, it’s time for UK Athletics to remove him from theirs.

Strip him of his funding.

Throughout his career Farah has benefited immensely from the taxpayer-funded support of his sport’s governing body.

Not just in the grants that have afforded him a salary to live and train as a full-time athlete.

Not just in the army of sports scientists, physios and (if necessary, and God forbid) eminent surgeons available to him at the drop of a hat.

But also in the lengthy winter training camps in the Kenyan mountains that have proved so crucial to making him the very best he can be. Arguably the best in the history of the 5000 and 10,000 metres events.

So last week’s announcement, after an ominous lengthy silence on the subject, that he intends to prioritise the London marathon over the staging of a Commonwealth Games on British soil, should mark a sea change in the way our hard-earned cash is distributed.

It’s time to get tough with those who have spent years taking from the system, yet show no interest in giving something back in appreciation of the investment that propelled them to live their sporting dreams.

Because what Farah is doing now stinks to high heaven – and it’s time he was forced to look in the mirror and ask himself some tough questions.

Like where should your loyalty really lie?

With the organisers of the London marathon, who paid you a reputed £500,000 this year just to run the first half of the race?

Or do you pause to reflect on the people who helped you reach such a level of fame where the marathon bosses were so desperate to throw cash at you to lure you to their event?

I’m talking about you and me, by the way. Anyone who has looked at their pay cheque and sighed at the hefty dollop lopped off every month for the government.

No one deserves more credit for making the most of his talent than Farah himself and he made the country so proud at the London Olympics last year.

But Britain and the millions of taxpayers who contribute to its success stretches far beyond London’s city limits.

The massive public investment in getting Glasgow ready for the 2014 Games deserves an equally committed response from the athletes to make it the triumph it deserves to be.

If more top stars were to follow Farah’s example by appearing to turn their nose up at the Games, it will cheapen the event and undermine its prestige.

So maybe it’s time those who have shelled out so much started making these athletes answer to their paymasters, who want value for the millions they’ve spent.

In general terms it’s only right that athletes are given the freedom to pick and choose their own schedule tailored specifically to their needs.

However, when we’re staging a major event like this I strongly believe they should all be compelled to attend.

Make it a three-line whip that they compete in Glasgow.

If Farah and any other UK athlete doesn’t deem a major Games on home soil worthy, why should we deem them worthy of further support?

Let Farah chase his ambition of stepping up to marathon distance and breaking the two-hour barrier if he likes. Just don’t expect us to pay for it any more.

Then we’ll see how long it takes for him to put Glasgow back on his list for next year.